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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24561880">man in a movie</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidqpid/pseuds/stupidqpid'>stupidqpid</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>moon over bourbon street [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(the attack is not that graphic so i didn't put a warning), Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Robbery, Slice of Life, knife</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:48:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,706</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24561880</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidqpid/pseuds/stupidqpid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mingi finally scores a date with Wooyoung.</p><p>Or: they'll get more action than the one in the movie they watched. But not <i>that</i> kind of action...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jung Wooyoung &amp; Song Mingi, Jung Wooyoung/Song Mingi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>moon over bourbon street [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659388</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mingi has been giddy ever since he managed to organize a date with Wooyoung. Convincing him wasn’t the issue—the affirmative message had even more emoji and exclamation points than usual, and arrived in a timely manner in comparison to other times—but rather deciding on a day and time that worked for both of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A problem that instead was surprisingly quite easy to skirt around was food: Wooyoung suggested going out for a bite before going to the cinema, but Mingi quickly made up another commitment that would free him shortly before the movie is supposed to start, so they </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘should totally meet up directly at the cinema, don’t worry about me, I’ll grab some snacks.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>At Wooyoung’s good natured quip that Mingi would have to bleed himself dry to afford the overinflated cinema food, the vampire sent back a string of </span>
  <em>
    <span>kekekekeke</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Thank goodness for doing all this over text, allowing him to cover how nervous he gets every time the human makes an accidental pun or reference to blood and vampirism. Not for the first time does Mingi believe that Wooyoung is onto him and is just playing coy, waiting for the <em><strong>b</strong>at</em> to come out of the bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The day, or rather evening, has finally arrived, and Mingi leaves his apartment with a full stomach and a pep in his step. He heard Wooyoung leaving not that long ago—he totally wasn’t eavesdropping through layers of tiles and concrete, no sire—so he decided to head to the cinema too. While the place is not too far, Mingi planned to take a roundabout route to avoid making it look like he was coming from the direction of their apartment building, and let his legs (and powers) decide whether to sprint and precede Wooyoung at their rendezvous or not. Wooyoung probably wouldn’t have cared either way, he didn’t even know where Mingi’s supposed commitment was at, but Mingi isn’t thinking lucidly, making things overly complicated for himself in his effort to pass for a simple human on a date after a long time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, Mingi reaches the cinema shortly after Wooyoung. Allowing himself the time to calm his not-actually-beating-but-might-as-well-be-pumping-out-of-his-chest heart, he approaches his date while admiring how soft the other looks in his oversized sweater, with a bit of an edge given by a pair of skinny jeans torn at the knees and high tops. Mingi actually sneaks up on the human, who’s fidgeting with his...is that an iPhone5?! I mean, if it still works more power to him, but even the vampire is more up to date with technology.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(Hongjoong always makes fun of him for talking as if he were some really ancient being, when in reality Mingi has just been a glorified hermit for the past six years. Even Yunho, who has some seniority but not by much, having been turned about 10 years before Mingi, rolls his eyes at his best friend’s exaggerations.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Back to Wooyoung, startling him has been the right decision, if only to make him cover his own mouth with his sweater paws in an effort to muffle the near shriek that escapes his slightly cracked lips, followed by the shrill laugh that Mingi has grown to appreciate once Wooyoung realizes it’s just him. A paw is still covering half of his pinking face when Wooyoung grins brightly in greeting, using the other hand to hit Mingi in retaliation for scaring him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His heartbeat didn’t accelerate only out of fright, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They enter the cinema, still giggling. After printing out the tickets Mingi booked online, they head straight to the snack bar, where they thankfully don’t have to queue for too long, being it a still quite early evening in the middle of the week. Before Wooyoung can open his mouth or his wallet to pay at least the snacks, since the vampire waved off his insistence to pay back his own ticket, Mingi has already paid the large popcorn bucket and two colas, gathering everything in his arms and walking in the direction of their theater. Wooyoung can only toddle after him, making the taller grin shyly when he poutily chides (and thanks) Mingi for being too generous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once in front of the usher, showing his ticket proves difficult for Mingi with his armful of snacks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uhm...could you please take my ticket? It’s in the jacket pocket,” he awkwardly asks Wooyoung, cocking his hip in the boy’s direction; with little hesitation, Wooyoung does as told and shows the usher both their tickets. Mindlessly, the shorter puts a hand on Mingi’s wide back to guide him to their seats, talking a mile a minute about what he saw earlier that week on the way to work, what his friends were up to, what recipe he’d like to try next… Mingi doesn’t mind just listening to him: he doesn’t have much to contribute with, but when he actually has an anecdote or comment to tell, Wooyoung looks genuinely interested, rather than impatient to resume his monologue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soon enough, the lights dim while the last movie trailers run on the big screen, and Wooyoung quietens too. Rumbling from their backs and moving to the left, the increasingly louder track plays for the opening scene, and the audience focuses in rapted silence on the on-screen action and cool CGI.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’re settled with the popcorn placed on the armrest between them and the more-ice-than-cola cups in the designated slots. From time to time, Mingi rustles through the bucket and, thankful for the virtual darkness in the room and his date’s own munching, brings his empty hand to his mouth, pretending to eat; the vampire feels guilty for making Wooyoung eat most if not all the popcorn, but the other doesn’t seem to notice or mind. They also probably annoy their seat neighbors with their hushed apologies whenever their buttery hands brush against the other’s.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi can’t help glancing more at Wooyoung than at the screen, more interested in admiring the lights reflecting in the human’s expressive eyes and highlighting his handsome features than following the plot. He can only hope Wooyoung won’t ask him what his favorite scene was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s during his covert admiration that, about three quarters into the screening, Mingi notices Wooyoung nodding off, snapping his head upright and blinking furiously to try staying awake. The vampire’s un-beating heart constricts in affection and guilt: the human has surely woken up very early that day for his job as a baker, yet here he is, fighting sleepiness just to hang out with Mingi who, on the other hand, becomes quite literally alive (well, un-dead) only after sunset. As much as he keeps hesitating, this episode pushes Mingi one step closer to his resolve to muster up the courage and reveal his real nature to Wooyoung soon, even if it means causing the human to run away from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t know where this reluctance comes from. Maybe the reclusive life he’s forced to lead. Maybe the unconscious fear that he’ll be turned down and outed, all the superstitions and horror stories regarding vampires coming to bite him and others like him in the ass if it gets revealed that vampires really exist. Even Yunho admitted he has never tried getting in a relationship since turning, at least until Hongjoong—leave it to Yunho’s usual blind luck that his confession went relatively well. In fact, Mingi has his best friends’ unlikely couple as proof that showing his teeth doesn’t have to end badly, and that a relationship between a vampire and a human is possible, so maybe...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung’s head tilts dangerously close to Mingi’s shoulder. Before Wooyoung can straighten himself up, though, Mingi guides his head to lean against him, going as far as shimmying into his seat to get to a more comfortable height for the shorter to rest. Standing still isn’t an issue for the vampire; he’s actually more concerned he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>still and </span>
  <em>
    <span>rigor mortis</span>
  </em>
  <span>-rigid to be a comfortable headrest for Wooyoung, but hopefully he’ll manage to get some shut-eye for the remainder of the film regardless. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of all the hearts beating in the room, Mingi can hear only Wooyoung’s. He has to force himself to focus back on the movie to avoid falling asleep as well, lulled by the slow sloshing of the blood flowing through the human’s heart. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After a little over two action-packed hours, the ending credits roll and an extra scene plays for the few who bothered to wait for it. They eventually start trickling out of the theater too, leaving only Mingi and Wooyoung in their seats smack in the middle of the audience.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wooyoung…” Hesitantly yet with a certain urgency, in case the usher passes by, Mingi shakes his neighbor awake until he hears his heartbeat pick back up. With an adorably confused mewl, Wooyoung blinks the sleep away, and whips his head around when he notices he’s leaning against Mingi and they’re the only ones left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!” Wooyoung apologizes as he worriedly glances at his date's dark wash jean jacket, trying to assess if he accidentally drooled on him. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep, least of all on you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi quickly gathers the nearly empty popcorn bucket and the paper cups, and they both sprint outside. “Don't worry! It looked like you needed it. Besides, you didn't really miss that much, the bonus scene was better than the ending.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With an embarrassed smile, Wooyoung accepts Mingi's attempts at comforting him and follows him outside, where the brisk air of the night bites at his sleep-flushed cheeks, partially waking him up. Stretching, he wonders aloud, "Where to, now?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi smirks teasingly at him. "Home, so you can sleep on an actual bed." Wooyoung pouts and mentally curses Mingi's long legs, having to jog to catch up with and fall into step with him. He unabashedly links their arms together, both to slow Mingi down and because he’s a human sized koala, especially when he’s sleepy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They trek back to the apartment building in relative silence, most conversations dying rather quickly following Wooyoung’s yawns: he’s drunk on drowsiness, occasionally slurring his words and giggling whenever he sways, especially with each close call against a pole or Mingi’s bigger form. Mingi looks at his crush endearingly, steadying him or steering him away from danger. At some point Wooyoung starts shivering, his sweater probably lighter than it looks, and the vampire readily puts his jacket on Wooyoung’s shoulders, totally unaffected by the cold despite how flimsy the long-sleeved t-shirt he’s wearing is.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep your mouths shut and nobody is gonna get hurt.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi and Wooyoung are bickering about the jacket, with Wooyoung insisting that he can’t accept it lest Mingi gets sick, when they get interrupted. A young man slightly taller than Wooyoung, wearing a hoodie over a baseball cap low on his head and zipped up to his nose, jumped in front of the guys before they could leave the usually safe back alley and is now holding them at knifepoint, instructing them to hand over their money and phones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a gasp, Wooyoung raises his hands and instinctively takes a step back. Mingi has long made peace with the fact he’s quite the coward, but this time he steps in without thinking, arms spread and hands up to cover Wooyoung even further while trying to defuse the situation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay. We’ll give them to you but please put the knife down,” he says, leaving a hand raised and the other going for the wallet in his jeans’ back pocket, while subtly pushing Wooyoung in a silent suggestion to run back the way they came from. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thief seems to be particularly on edge. His eyes narrow at the close proximity between his victims; whether he suspects the one in front is trying to reach for a weapon or he notices the shorter’s stance ready to flee, the man jumps forward with the knife aimed to hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck are you planning, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung screams when Mingi grunts and bends slightly at the waist after being hit. Mingi barely manages to shove Wooyoung away before he feels the blade easily cutting through his t-shirt and flesh, straight into his dead liver. His hands immediately shoot to grab the robber’s and stop him—who knows what he’s capable of doing now that his attempted theft went to shit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a low growl meant only for the criminal to be heard, Mingi snaps his head up to look directly at his face. Throwing caution to the wind but too pissed off to control himself, the vampire revels in the robber’s increasing horror in front of his current appearance: instead of their usual--and natural--warm chocolate color, Mingi’s irises are now rose gold and glowing white hot, surrounding vertical pupils that fury caused to narrow into thinner slits, while the black of his scleras bleeds into tiny inky branches around his angry eyes. Mingi twists his plump lips in a vicious snarl that bares his sharp, elongated teeth, immediately prompting the other man to thrash about in an effort to free himself from that iron grip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The robber goes tumbling backwards when Mingi lets go of him. Shuffling on his ass to put as much distance between himself and the monster, the man flounders as he keeps his eyes always trained on Mingi, too shocked to properly scream and scared the other would attack if he looks away. The thief eventually manages to get up on trembling legs and barely avoids tripping on his own feet when he turns to run away, leaving behind the knife he accidentally dropped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi exhales as he looks at the retreating figure. The relief is short lived, however, as Wooyoung, who just recovered from the scare, runs to his side to check on him, phone in hand and about ready to dial the emergency number.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mingi! Are you alright? Did he stab you?” he asks, his free hand immediately reaching out to touch Mingi’s shoulder comfortingly and making him turn to have a better look; the shirt Mingi is wearing is too dark to make anything out, but it appears vaguely wet. A few feet away from them, barely out of range of a street lamp, the robber’s knife lies on the sidewalk with a black substance coating the blade and dripping on the asphalt. At his friend’s silence, Wooyoung looks up worriedly, concerned Mingi is still shell-shocked from the attack or about to faint from blood loss, only for Mingi to sharply look away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to call an ambulance--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NO!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wooyoung startles at the harsh tone of the prompt refusal, but that’s not what makes his eyes widen and his jaw slacken. The fierceness in the eyes glowering at him immediately softens as they start nervously darting left and right, still in the process of returning back to normal: while the only noteworthy characteristic of the right eye is the oddly colored iris that is slowly fading to brown, the left one is visibly absorbing the blackness around the eye and dimming its unnatural glow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mingi doesn’t notice he has started trembling. He really should drink some blood to regenerate his damaged liver and skin as soon as possible, but that’s not what has him in a mental and physical turmoil. Part of him wants to reach for Wooyoung and reassure him that he’s not going to hurt him, but the prospect of making the human flinch away from him makes Mingi reconsider; part of him would rather run away, for both their sakes, and yet another part wants to get this weight off his chest once and for all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keeping a respectful distance in an effort to not make Wooyoung feel in danger, Mingi waits for both his eyes to go back to normal before addressing him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Wooyoung. I didn’t want you to find out this way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The human’s breath hitches. His heartbeat accelerates. He lets his mouth dry slightly, too stunned to gulp. He keeps staring, albeit with almost unfocused eyes from not blinking for too long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next time Mingi speaks, his canines peek over his bottom lip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a vampire.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Decisions, decisions... I almost made Mingi avoid the inevitable for yet another installment, but at the same time i didn't want to drag it for too long so here we are. Now i have to figure out how to go from there, lol.</p><p>My notes for this fic: "am i a joke to you?"</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>everyone stay safe and keep fighting for what's right ♥</p></blockquote></div></div>
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